Inertia measurement module for unmanned aircraft

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to an inertia measurement module for an unmanned aircraft, which comprises a housing assembly, a sensing assembly and a vibration damper. The vibration damper comprises a first vibration-attenuation cushion; and the sensing assembly comprises a first circuit board, a second circuit board and a flexible signal line for connecting the first circuit board and the second circuit board. An inertia sensor is fixed on the second circuit board, and the first circuit board is fixed on the housing assembly. The inertia measurement module further comprises a weight block, and the second circuit board, the weight block, the first vibration-attenuation cushion and the first circuit board are bonded together. The present disclosure greatly reduces the influence of the operational vibration frequency of the unmanned aircraft on the inertia sensor and improves the measurement stability of the inertia sensor.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the technical field ofunmanned aircraft control, and more particularly, to an inertiameasurement module for an unmanned aircraft.

BACKGROUND

In the conventional technology, for buffering of an inertia measurementmodule of an unmanned aircraft, four vibration-attenuation cushions aredisposed outside a housing of a control module thereof to form fourfulcrums that support the housing of the whole control module. Thestructure of disposing the vibration-attenuation cushions outside theinertia measurement module for the unmanned aircraft has followingdrawbacks: (1) the vibration-attenuation cushions need be stalled on aplatform, so that both the volume and weight of the whole control moduleare increased, which increases the invalid load of the aircraft andmakes it inconvenient to be installed; (2) because thevibration-attenuation cushions are exposed outside, there is aprobability that the vibration-attenuation cushions might be damaged,and this has an influence on the service life of the inertia measurementmodule for the unmanned aircraft; and (3) the buffering effect might becompromised by the main control connections.

SUMMARY

The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is that, inview of the problem that disposing the vibration-attenuation cushionsoutside leads to a bulky volume and a poor buffering effect of theconventional inertia measurement module for the unmanned aircraft, aninertia measurement module for an unmanned aircraft is provided to solvethis problem. A technical solution of the present disclosure to solvethis technical problem is: providing an inertia measurement module foran unmanned aircraft, which comprises a housing assembly, a sensingassembly and a vibration damper. The sensing assembly and the vibrationdamper are disposed in the housing assembly. The vibration dampercomprises a first vibration-attenuation cushion for bufferingvibrations; the sensing assembly comprises a first circuit board, asecond circuit board and a flexible signal line for communicationallyconnecting the first circuit board and the second circuit board. Aninertia sensor is fixedly disposed on the second circuit board, and thefirst circuit board is fixed on the housing assembly. The inertiameasurement module further comprises a weight block for increasingweight, and the second circuit board, the weight block, the firstvibration-attenuation cushion and the first circuit board are bondedtogether in sequence into one piece and then fitted into the housingassembly.

Furthermore, in the inertia measurement module for the unmanned aircraftof the present disclosure, the vibration damper further comprises asecond vibration-attenuation cushion, which is fixedly bonded on thesecond circuit board and abuts against an inner wall of the housingassembly.

Preferably, in the inertia measurement module for the unmanned aircraftof the present disclosure, a bonding area S₂ between the secondvibration-attenuation cushion and the second circuit board is in a rangeof 12.6 to 50.2 mm².

Preferably, in the inertia measurement module for the unmanned aircraftof the present disclosure, the weight block has a weight of 1 g to 30 g.

Preferably, in the inertia measurement module for the unmanned aircraftof the present disclosure, a bonding area S₁ between the firstvibration-attenuation cushion and the second circuit hoard is in a rangeof 12.6 to 50.2 mm².

Specifically, in the inertia measurement module for the unmannedaircraft of the present disclosure, the housing assembly comprises afirst housing and a second housing mating with and locked to each other.

Specifically, in the inertia measurement module for the unmannedaircraft of the present disclosure, the second circuit board is fixedlydisposed on a supporting sheet, and the supporting sheet is fixedlybonded to the weight block.

Preferably, in the inertia measurement module for the unmanned aircraftof the present disclosure, the inertia sensor comprises a gyroscope fordetecting an angular speed signal and an accelerometer for detecting anacceleration signal, the angular speed signal and the accelerationsignal are transmitted to the first circuit board via the flexiblesignal line.

Specifically, in the inertia measurement module for the unmannedaircraft of the present disclosure, a power source, a memory, aprocessor and a circuit module are fixedly disposed on the first circuitboard.

Specifically, in the inertia measurement module for the unmannedaircraft of the present disclosure, the sensing assembly furthercomprises a signal input interface terminal and a signal outputinterface terminal, the signal input interface terminal and the signaloutput interface terminal are connected to the first circuit boardthrough interface signals; and the housing assembly forms an innerchamber that opens at two ends, and the signal input interface terminaland the signal output interface terminal are disposed in the innerchamber and snap-fitted to the two ends of the inner chamber.

The present disclosure has following advantages: components includingthe inertia sensor and so on that require a high vibration performance,are integrated on the second circuit board, and the vibration damper isdisposed to improve the vibration characteristics of the inertiameasurement module so that the inherent mechanical vibration frequencyof the inertia measurement module is much lower than various vibrationfrequencies unrelated to movement that are generated by the aircraft. Bydisposing the first vibration-attenuation cushion, vibrations caused bythe unmanned aircraft to the inertia sensor are attenuated quickly, andwhen frequencies of above 50 Hz are generated by the aircraft, thevibrations suffered by the inertia sensor after thevibration-attenuation cushion is disposed, are attenuated to below 30%of those suffered before the vibration-attenuation cushion is disposed.This greatly reduces the influence of the operational vibrationfrequency of the unmanned aircraft on the inertia sensor and improvesthe measurement stability of the inertia sensor; and this alsoremarkably reduces the volume and weight of the inertia measurementmodule and enlarges the loading space of the unmanned aircraft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Hereinbelow, the present disclosure will be further described withreference to the attached drawings and the embodiments thereof, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an inertia measurement modulefor an unmanned aircraft according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure in an assembled state;

FIG. 2 is a first schematic structural view of the inertia measurementmodule for an unmanned aircraft according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure when a housing assembly is removed;

FIG. 3 is a second schematic structural view of the inertia measurementmodule for an unmanned aircraft according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure when the housing assembly is removed;

FIG. 4 is a first schematic exploded structural view of the inertiameasurement module for an unmanned aircraft according to an embodimentof the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a second schematic exploded structural view of the inertiameasurement module for an unmanned aircraft according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to provide a clearer understanding of the technical features,objects and effects of the present disclosure, embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be detailed with reference to the attacheddrawings hereinbelow.

Violent random vibrations are the primary mechanics factor to which astrapdown inertial navigation module is exposed in operation. Thevibrations lead to instability in performance of the inertia measurementmodule or damage of electronic components, and have a great influence onthe stability of the inertia measurement module. In order to reduce thedamage of components on the circuit board or the instability of theinertia sensor due to violent random vibrations of the unmannedaircraft, the influence of vibrations of the unmanned aircraft on theinertia sensor may be reduced by, on one hand, altering the connectingstructures between parts within the housing assembly to enhance theconnection rigidity between the parts and, on the other hand, using avibration damper as a damping medium to elastically connect the inertiameasurement module to the unmanned aircraft. The choice of the bufferingmode has an influence not only on the buffering performance of theinertial navigation system but also on the measurement accuracy of thesystem. Accordingly, the present disclosure seeks to improveperformances of the miniature inertia measurement module by improvingthe vibration damper and rationalizing the buffering mechanic structure.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, an inertia measurement module foran unmanned aircraft according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure is shown therein. The inertia measurement module for anunmanned aircraft comprises a housing assembly, a sensing assembly and avibration damper. As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the housingassembly forms an inner chamber that opens at two ends, and the sensingassembly and the vibration damper are disposed within the inner chamber.As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the sensing assembly comprises a firstcircuit board 1, a second circuit hoard 6 and a flexible signal line 7for connecting the first circuit board 1 and the second circuit board 6.The flexible signal line 7 is adapted to transmit various signalsdetected by sensors on the second circuit board 6 to the first circuitboard 1. Components including an inertia sensor and a power source arefixedly disposed on the second circuit board 6. The components thatrequire high vibration performances such as the inertia sensor etc. areintegrated into the second circuit board 6, to perform to buffer theinertia sensor by buffering the second circuit board 6, so as to improvethe measurement stability of the inertia sensor. To facilitate bufferingthe second circuit board 6, preferably, the second circuit board 6 is aflexible circuit board. In order to protect the inertia sensor andreduce the influence of vibrations of the unmanned aircraft to theinertia sensor, the vibration damper comprises a firstvibration-attenuation cushion 3 for buffering the vibrations as shown inFIG. 4 and FIG. 5. As the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 is usedfor buffering the sensing assembly, the size, the density and thematerial of the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 and the bondingarea between the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 and the sensingassembly have a great influence on the buffering performances.Preferably, the first circuit board 1 is fixed on the housing assemblyby snap-fitting, screwing, riveting, soldering or adhesion. In theinertia measurement module, the inherent frequency thereof is

${f_{n} = {\frac{1}{2\pi}\sqrt{\frac{K}{M}}}},$

where K represents the elastic coefficient, and M represents the mass.It can be seen, the greater the mass M is, thus the smaller the inherentfrequency f_(n) will be. To keep the inherent frequency away from theoperation frequency of the unmanned aircraft, that is 50 Hz-200 Hz, theinherent frequency f_(n) shall be as small as possible and, as can bederived from the above formula, this requires increasing the mass M ordecreasing the elastic coefficient K. The elastic coefficient K isaffected by the material of the vibration damper and the bonding areathereof, and when the elastic coefficient K is a constant value, theinherent frequency f_(n) shall be decreased by increasing the mass M. Inorder to increase the mass M, a weight block 5 for increasing the massis further included in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.The weight block 5 serves to, on one hand, decrease the inherentfrequency of the inertia measurement module and, on the other hand,provide a support for positioning the second circuit board 6 so that theparts are connected firmly. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the secondcircuit board 6 is fixedly bonded to a side surface of the weight block5, the opposite side surface of the weight block 5 is fixedly bonded tothe first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 through an adhesive layer 4,the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 is bonded to the first circuitboard 1 through an adhesive layer 2, and the first circuit board 1 issnap-fitted into the housing assembly. That is, the second circuit board6, the weight block 5, the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 and thefirst circuit board 1 are bonded together in sequence into one piece andthen snap-fitted into the housing assembly.

Specifically, as an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibrationdamper is made of a special buffering material which has an excellentelastic performance. This can provide the following advantages: bydisposing the vibration damper, the vibrations caused by the unmannedaircraft to the inertia sensor can be attenuated quickly, and whenfrequencies of above 50 Hz are generated by the unmanned aircraft, thevibrations suffered by the inertia sensor after the vibration damper isdisposed are attenuated to below 30% of those suffered before thevibration damper is disposed. This greatly reduces the influence of theoperational vibration frequency of the unmanned aircraft on the inertiasensor and improves the measurement stability of the inertia sensor.

In order to further provide buffering for the inertia sensor on thebasis of the above technical solution so that buffering can be achievedat both the two opposite sides of the second circuit board 6, thevibration damper further comprises a second vibration-attenuationcushion 9 as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The secondvibration-attenuation cushion 9 is fixedly bonded to the second circuitboard 6 and abuts against an inner wall of the housing assembly. Thesecond vibration-attenuation cushion 9 and the firstvibration-attenuation cushion 3 are located at two sides of the secondcircuit board 6 respectively so that forced vibrations caused by theunmanned aircraft from different directions can be absorbed in abalanced way by the two vibration-attenuation cushions. Thus, when theunmanned aircraft flips over, makes a turn, ascends or descends in theair, the inertia sensor on the second circuit hoard 6 can be wellprotected with a better buffering effect.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the second vibration-attenuation cushion 9is in the form of a hollow cuboid, which has a length of 13 mm-20 mm, awidth of 13 mm-20 mm and a thickness of 3 mm-4 mm. It can be appreciatedthat, the hollow part of the second vibration-attenuation cushion 9 isnot limited to be the cuboidal form shown in FIG. 4, but may also be acircular form, an ellipsoidal form, a rhombus form, a quincuncial formor some other regular form. Preferably, the hollow part is in the “

” form, which is favorable for improving the elasticity of the secondvibration-attenuation cushion 9 to enhance the buffering effect. Itshall be noted that, the form of the second vibration-attenuationcushion 9 is not limited to the cuboidal form either, but may also besome other regular or irregular form. Preferably, the secondvibration-attenuation cushion 9 is in a sheet form for ease ofinstallation.

A multitude of tiny cavities are distributed in the elastic material,and the size and quantity of the cavities have an influence on theperformance of the elastic material. The second vibration-attenuationcushion 9 is fixedly bonded to the second circuit board 6 through anadhesive layer 8, and in order to ensure secure bonding, theoreticallythe bonding area S₂ of the adhesive layer 8 shall be as large aspossible. However, if the bonding area S₂ is too large, the cavities inthe elastic material would be blocked by the adhesive layer, and in casethe cavities were blocked in a large area in the elastic material, theelasticity of the elastic material would be significantly compromised(i.e., the elastic coefficient K would be increased) to lead to acorrespondingly increased

$f_{n} = {\frac{1}{2\pi}{\sqrt{\frac{K}{M}}.}}$

Therefore, the area of the adhesive layer 8 shall be set to anappropriate size, and the bonding area S₂ between the secondvibration-attenuation cushion 9 and the second circuit hoard 6 ispreferably in a range of 12.6 to 50.2 mm² and, more preferably, is 28.3mm².

The inherent frequency is

${f_{n} = {\frac{1}{2\pi}\sqrt{\frac{K}{M}}}},$

so in order to reduce the inherent frequency as far as possible on thebasis of the above technical solution, the weight of the weight block is1 g˜30 g and, preferably, is 15 g, 17.5 g, 20 g or 25 g.

Further, the weight block 5 is made of a metal material having arelatively large density, and is in the form of a cuboid that can saveuse of space. The cuboid has a length of 13 mm˜15 mm, a width of 13mm˜15 mm and a thickness of 3 mm˜5 mm. Preferably, the weight block 5has a length of 15 mm, a width of 15 mm and a height of 4 mm to ensure agood stability. It shall be noted that, the form of the weight block 5is not limited to the cuboidal form, but may also be some other regularor irregular form. Preferably, the weight block 5 is in a sheet form ora lump form to facilitate tight connection with the second circuit board6.

In order to reduce the volume of the inertia measurement module anddecrease the height of the measurement module on the basis of the abovetechnical solution, preferably a recess that matches in shape with thesecond circuit board 6 is formed on the weight block 5. The secondcircuit board 6 is embedded into the recess and fixed with the weightblock 5 through adhesion. Embedding the second circuit board 6 into therecess of the weight block 5 can, on one hand, save use of the spaceand, on the other hand, facilitate quick and uniform dissipation of heatfrom the second circuit board 6 because of its close attachment to themetallic weight block 5. This can effectively avoid overheating in localregions of the second circuit board 6 to prolong the service life ofcomponents of the second circuit board 6.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4, the firs vibration-attenuation t cushion3 is in the same form as the second vibration-attenuation cushion 9.Specifically, the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 is in the formof a hollow cuboid, which has a length of 13 mm˜20 mm, a width of 13mm˜20 mm and a thickness of 3 mm˜4 mm. It can be appreciated that, thehollow part of the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 is not limitedto be the cuboidal form shown in FIG. 4, but may also be a circularform, an ellipsoidal form, a rhombus form, a quincuncial form or someother regular form. Preferably, the hollow part is of a “

” form, which is favorable for improving the elasticity of the firstvibration-attenuation cushion 3 to enhance the buffering effect.Similarly, the shape of the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3 is notlimited to the cuboidal form either, but may also be some other regularor irregular form. Preferably, the first vibration-attenuation cushion 3is in a sheet form to facilitate close attachment to the weight block 5.Further, a multitude of tiny cellular cavities are distributed in theelastic material, and the size and quantity of the cavities have aninfluence on the performance of the elastic material. The firstvibration-attenuation cushion 3 is fixedly bonded to the second circuitboard 6 through an adhesive layer 2, and in order to ensure securebonding, theoretically the bonding area S₁ of the adhesive layer 2 shallbe as large as possible. However, if the bonding area S₁ is too large,the cavities in the elastic material would be blocked by the adhesivelayer 2, and in case the cavities were blocked in a large area in theelastic material, the elasticity of the elastic material would besignificantly compromised (i.e., the elastic coefficient K would beincreased) to lead to a correspondingly increased

$f_{n} = {\frac{1}{2\pi}{\sqrt{\frac{K}{M}}.}}$

Therefore, the area of the adhesive layer 2 shall be set to anappropriate size, and the bonding area S₁ between the firstvibration-attenuation cushion 3 and the second circuit board 6 ispreferably in a range of 12.6 to 50.2 mm² and, more preferably, is 28.3mm².

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, as a preferred embodiment of thepresent disclosure on the basis of the above technical solution, thehousing assembly comprises a first housing 13 and a second housing 14mating with and locked to each other, and the first housing 13 and thesecond housing 14 are snap-fitted with each other to form an innerchamber. Such a structure is favorable for assembly and detachment, andallows for maintaining parts inside the housing assembly timely.

Preferably, the first housing 13 and the second housing 14 are locked toeach other by screws. It shall be appreciated that, the first housing 13and the second housing 14 may also be locked to each other throughriveting, snap-fitting or plugging.

On the basis of the above technical solution, the flexible secondcircuit board 6 is preferably fixed on a supporting sheet as shown inFIG. 5. The supporting sheet is fixedly bonded to the weight blockthrough an adhesive layer 10, and serves to facilitate tight bondingbetween the second circuit board 6 and the weight block 5.

On the basis of the above technical solution, the adhesive layer 10, theadhesive layer 2, the adhesive layer 8 and the adhesive layer 4 are madeof a special material that has good adhesiveness, good resistance torepel and good workability. This kind of adhesive layers may becontrolled to be within 0.15 mm in thickness and to provide an adhesiveforce of 14˜17 N/20 mm. It can be appreciated that, the aforesaidadhesive layers may be in sheet form (i.e., surface bonding) or beformed by a plurality of individual portions (i.e., multi-pointbonding).

Specifically, a power source, a memory, a processor and a circuit moduleare fixedly disposed on the first circuit board 1. The inertia sensorcomprises a gyroscope for detecting an angular speed signal and anaccelerometer for detecting an acceleration signal. The angular speedsignal and the acceleration signal are transmitted to the first circuitboard 1 via the flexible signal line 7, and are then processed in thememory and the processor for output to control the steering engine ofthe unmanned aircraft.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the sensing assemblyfurther comprises a signal input interface terminal 11 and a signaloutput interface terminal 12 which are connected to the first circuitboard 1 via interface signals. In this embodiment, both the signal inputinterface terminal 11 and the signal output interface terminal 12 areconnected to the first circuit board 1 preferably in an asynchronousserial manner. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing assembly forms an innerchamber that opens at two ends, and the signal interface terminal 11 andthe signal output interface terminal 12 are disposed within the innerchamber and snap-fitted to the two ends of the inner chamber. Such astructure is compact and occupies a small space.

Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above withreference to the attached drawings. However, the present disclosure isnot limited to the aforesaid embodiments, and the aforesaid embodimentsare provided only for illustration but not for limitation. In light ofthe present disclosure, those of ordinary skill in the art can makenumerous modifications without departing from the spirit of the presentdisclosure and the scope claimed in the claims, and all thesemodifications shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inertia measurement module, comprising: asecond circuit board with an inertia sensor; a first circuit board witha processor to process one or more signals from the inertia sensor; asignal line between the first circuit board and the second circuitboard; a weight block comprising a recess, wherein the second circuitboard is embedded in the recess of the weight block; and a vibrationdamper provided to attenuate vibration of the inertia sensor.